The Pros And Cons Of Addiction

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

The effect of addiction have consumed billions of individuals all over the world, not only consume but also killed. Individuals have relied on drugs to fill the void in their life that is missing. The addict is not only hurting themselves from the drug use but their families, friends, and their community. In this paper, it will give a description of a 21-year-old male named Anthony. Anthony started using marijuana at the age of 20, trying to hide the pain from the death of his sister. Eventually, marijuana was not enough to get Anthony the extra high he wanted which Anthony made the choice to try another drug and eventually it

With states closing many of its mental facilities in the communities, there were a lot of people in need of outpatient care who fell through the cracks of the system and ended up in prison. Prison is where many of them died from inadequate treatment. Prisons were suddenly receiving inmates with the following types of mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, bipolar, and deep depressions. These prisons just did not provide these inmates with any medication during their incarceration. Because the community based health services is lacking, and patients aren’t receiving sufficient outpatient care, it makes the effectiveness of deinstitutionalization a serious problem. Without the availability of 24/7 psychiatric services that are well structured, I believe that deinstitutionalization is what is accounting for the increase of the mentally ill inmates in the correctional facility.

Over the years, substance abuse in the United States has become a persistent issue affecting many individuals. In 2008, it was estimated that 17.8 million Americans over the age of 18 where substance dependent (Epstein, Burns, & Conlon, 2010). Many of these individuals being affected are nurses. Ponech (2000) stated that "approximately 10% of the nursing population has alcohol or drug abuse problems, and 6% has problems serious enough to interfere with their ability to practice" (as cited in Talbert, 2009, p.17). Studies show that nurses have a 50% higher rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the public (Epstein et al., 2010). Among the many factors that contribute to the nurse’s issue of substance abuse,

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Addiction: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.

The conditions of psychiatric hospitals were poorly maintained yet again. From the late 1800s until the mid-1900s, the conditions of these institutions were hit or miss. Despite the rising population of those in need of mental health treatment, conditions were deteriorating across the board. This pushed in the deinstitutionalization movement (Nevid, Rathus, & Green, 2014). This was a push to remove patients from state-run hospitals into a more community-based treatment center. In most cases today, there are treatment plans in place depending upon the severity of the disorder an individual may be suffering from. It’s more about treating an individual with any variety of modern techniques or therapies and trying to reintegrate them into society rather than a lifelong stay in an institution. Deinstitutionalization didn’t work the way it was intended. After it was put into place there was a rise in the homeless population and different programs that were supposed to be put into place didn’t live up to

Since the creation of drugs, its abuse and addiction became a taboo. As technology advanced into the 21st century, an impetus in civilization created the allure of drugs, which became propagated and popularized into modern society. Consequently, its Achilles heel created a social epidemic which threatened their innocence. Therefore, the conundrum of this phenomenon caused challenges for the addict, society, and treatment providers. Nonetheless, as problem arises, solutions await its discovery; and, as new and innovated ideas emerged, there are precipitate and modern challenges when getting individuals into addiction treatment.

The definition provided above is accessible and easy to understand; however, it initiates false beliefs among individuals because it fails to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental health problem. Moreover, when words such as, “dependence”, “control” and “craving” are used to define drug addiction, it leaves an impression to the reader that addicts are indeed “people who cannot control their impulses.” Consequently, when we fail to recognize that drug addiction is a mental health problem, our focus is diverted towards the physical aspect of drug addiction. This could cause the belief among individuals that drugs alone cause the addiction. It is essential to acknowledge that there are chemical hooks in drugs; however, individuals need to understand that drugs alone do not cause the addiction. We need to identify and distinguish the “root cause” of addiction and ask ourselves: what caused the individual to take the drug in the first place?

2007). While highly skilled, the majority of primary care and family practitioners have minimal training in identifying or treating psychiatric conditions and/or substance use disorders (Collins, 2010). The Presidents New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) indicated mental health conditions and substance use disorders often go unscreened and thus untreated in a primary care setting. Currently, working as an administrator of a behavioral healthcare agency I am a daily witness to the impact delays in appropriate care cause. This is not only worrisome, it often leads to a need for a higher level of care and higher cost of treatment due the prevalence of untreated illnesses. Marrying behavioral healthcare services within a primary care setting has shown promising outcomes, affording for greater access to care for those suffering from psychosocial conditions, all the while cutting costs and providing greater proficiency in service delivery. (Mauer, 2002). As an administrator, the potential to implement and manage programs that not only provide greater access to care, but also cut cost is an exciting avenue to

The solution to the problem is to provide sufficient funding to the community-based mental health system so people could be helped before they become part of the prison system. Services like medication therapy and monitoring, residential services, rehabilitation services and support services are successful in bringing the severely mentally ill back to communities. As a rule, community services are also less expensive. Instead, we see mental health agencies being closed and stripped of their budgets. As a result the mentally ill have no place to go for treatment and support.

This in-person interview was made final April 7, 2011 with the interviewee, Mae Parnell, who is employed as a case manager at Haymarket Center, located as 120 So. Sangamon St., Chicago, IL. Mae Parnell’s primary job description at Haymarket Center is to coordinator the approach to the delivery of substances abuse and social and health services. She will also provide each client with connections to seek the appropriate organizations that will be able to assist and devote to the care of his or hers unique circumstances and to help him or her attain goals for him or

According to IMS Health (2015) over 4.3 billion prescription drugs were dispensed in the United States and Narconon (2015) reports that the decade ending in 2008 saw a four hundred percent increase in people seeking treatment for opioid addiction. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that transcends all socioeconomic boundaries in our society and is destroying lives, families, and whole communities, especially those most vulnerable; the physically and mentally ill. For one to better understand the full social implications of this issue, it is important to first review the history, impacts, and current debates around prescription drug abuse in the United States, and to then evaluate the connections that are formed by the culture, social roles, social inequalities, and social changes in our society.

Introduction: First the mentally ill were abandoned to the streets to join the ranks of the homeless population and to our jails. The continuous withdrawal of mental health funding has become all too familiar throughout America. Jails and prisons across the nation have turned into default mental health facilities. A system that was originally designed for security and rehabilitation is now trapped with treating the mentally ill who have nowhere else to go and eventually end up being cycled in and out of prison. This never ending cycle has led to a very sad but true reality that America’s jails and prisons have become our new mental hospitals. Mental hospitals that cannot and do not provide

In 1965, there was a histrionic change in the method that mental health care was delivered in the United States. The focus went from State Mental Hospitals to outpatient settings for the treatment of mental health issues. With the passing of Medicaid, States were encouraged to move patients out of the hospital setting (Pan, 2013). This process failed miserably due to under funding and understaffing for the amout of patients that were released from the State Mental Hospitals. This resulted in patients, as well as their families, who were in dire need of mental health services. This population turned to either incarceration (jails and/or prisons) or emergency departments as a primary source of care for their loved ones.